Martini, the famous Italian drinks brand, is Williams’ new title sponsor.
The speculation entered the realm of fact this week when images of Martini-themed Williams team shirts were spotted at officially-licensed F1 merchandiser OnPole. The images were subsequently removed. But speculation of the scale of the Martini deal continues to tie in with Williams’ pre-season activities so far, where the team has been running a plan blue livery in testing.
Williams says it will only launch its 2014 race livery in Australia. Italy’s specialist Autosprint reports that the Martini deal will not be limited to mere branding on Williams’ shirts and livery. The report said it is believed the deal gives Martini full naming and livery rights, meaning the Williams will be relaunched in iconic white, blue and red and as Williams Martini Racing. Autosprint correspondent Alberto Antonini also reports that Ferrari may have come up with “the technical revolution” of the 2014 season.
The new F14-T features noticeably small sidepods, despite the huge cooling demands of the new ‘power unit’, and Autosprint said the secret underneath the skin is a radical system that replaces traditional radiators. Antonini explained that it is “very likely” Ferrari is working with the world leader in ‘microtube heat exchangers’, the American company Mezzo Technologies.
Info: GMM, Image: Williams
